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[keep one’s balance]{v. phr.} To stay even-tempered; not become overexcited. •/Mike has the best personality to run our office; he always keeps his balance./ Contrast: LOSE ONE’S BALANCE.

[keep one’s chin up]{v. phr.} To be brave; be determined; face trouble with courage. •/He didn’t think that he would ever get out of the jungle alive, but he kept his chin up./ Compare: KEEP A STIFF UPPER LIP.

[keep one’s distance]{v. phr.} To be cool toward someone; avoid being friendly. •/Mary did not like her co-worker, Betty, and kept her distance from her./ Compare: KEEP ONE AT A DISTANCE.

[keep one’s end up] See: HOLD ONE’S END UP.

[keep one’s eye on] See: KEEP AN EYE ON.

[keep one’s eye on the ball]{v. phr.} 1. To watch the ball at all times in a sport, usually in order to hit it or get it; not stop watching the ball. •/Keep your eye on the baseball or you won’t be able to hit it./ 2. {informal} To be watchful and ready; be wide-awake and ready to win or succeed; be smart. •/Tom is just starting on the job but if he keeps his eye on the ball, he will be promoted./ Compare: ON THE BALL, KEEP AN EYE ON or KEEP ONE’S EYE ON or HAVE ONE’S EYE ON.

[keep one’s eyes open] See: EYES OPEN.

[keep one’s eyes peeled] or [keep one’s eyes skinned]{v. phr.}, {informal} To watch carefully; be always looking. •/The bird-watcher kept his eyes peeled for bluebirds./ •/When the boys walked through the roads, they kept their eyes skinned for snakes./ Compare: EYES OPEN(1), EYE OUT.

[keep one’s feet]{v. phr.} To keep from falling or slipping down; keep your balance; remain standing. •/The boy stumbled on the stairs but was able to keep his feet./ Compare: REGAIN ONE’S FEET.

[keep one’s feet on the ground] See: FEET ON THE GROUND.

[keep one’s fingers crossed] See: CROSS ONE’S FINGERS(1b).

[keep one’s hand in]{v. phr.} To keep in practice; continue to take part. •/After he retired from teaching, Mr. Brown kept his hand in by giving a lecture once in a while./ •/Mr. Smith left the planning of the trip to his wife, but he kept his hand in, too./ Compare: KEEP UP.

[keep one’s head] also [keep one’s wits about one]{v. phr.} To stay calm when there is trouble or danger. •/When Tim heard the fire alarm he kept his head and looked for the nearest exit./ Compare: COUNT TO TEN. Contrast: LOSE ONE’S HEAD.

[keep one’s head above water]{v. phr.} To remain solvent; manage to stay out of debt. •/Herb’s income declined so drastically that he now has difficulty keeping his head above water./

[keep one’s mouth shut]{v. phr.}, {informal} To be or stay silent. — A rude expression when used as a command. •/When the crooks were captured by the police, their leader warned them to keep their mouths shut./ •/Charles began to tell Barry how to kick the ball, and Barry said angrily, "Keep your mouth shut!"/ Syn.: SHUT UP(1).

[keep one’s nose clean]{v. phr.}, {slang} To stay out of trouble; do only what you should do. •/The boss said Jim could have the job as long as he kept his nose clean and worked hard./ •/The policeman warned the boys to keep their noses clean unless they wanted to go to jail./ Compare: STEER CLEAR OF(2).

[keep one’s nose to the grindstone] or [have one’s nose to the grindstone] or [hold one’s nose to the grindstone]{v. phr.}, {informal} To work hard all the time; keep busy with boring or tiresome work. •/Sarah keeps her nose to the grindstone and saves as much as possible to start her own business./

[keep one’s own counsel]{v. phr.}, {formal} To keep your ideas and plans to yourself. •/John listened to what everyone had to say in the discussion, but he kept his own counsel./ •/Although everybody gave Mrs. O’Connor advice about what to do with her house, she kept her own counsel./

[keep one’s shirt on]{v. phr.}, {slang} To calm down; keep from losing your temper or getting impatient or excited. •/Bob got very angry when John accidentally bumped into him, but John told him to keep his shirt on./ — Usually used as a command; may be considered impolite. •/John said to Bob, "Keep your shirt on."/ Contrast: GET ONE’S DANDER UP.

[keep one’s temper] See: HOLD ONE’S TEMPER.

[keep one’s weather eye open] See: WEATHER EYE.

[keep one’s wits about one] See: KEEP ONE’S HEAD.

[keep one’s word]{v. phr.} To do what one has promised; fulfill one’s promise. •/Paul kept his word and paid me the $250 that he owed me right on time./

[keep on the good side of] See: ON ONE’S GOOD SIDE.

[keep open house]{v. phr.} To offer hospitality and entertain those who come at any given time on a certain day or afternoon. •/Beth and Charlie have a cottage by the lake where they keep open house on Saturday afternoons during the summer./

[keep out (of)]{v. phr.} 1. To stay out; remain out of. •/The sign on the fence said, "Danger! Keep out!"/ 2. To stave off; not allow in. •/The border patrol near El Paso, Texas, is trying to keep illegal immigrants out of the United States./

[keep pace]{v. phr.} To go as fast; go at the same rate; not get behind. •/When they go for a walk, Johnny has to take long steps to keep pace with his father./ •/When Billy was moved to a more advanced class, he had to work hard to keep pace./ Compare: KEEP UP(2a).

[keep plugging along]{v. phr.}, {informal} To continue to work diligently and with great effort, often against hardship. •/Bob was not particularly talented but he kept plugging along year after year, and eventually became vice president./

[keeps] See: FOR KEEPS.

[keep step with]{v. phr.} To maintain the same degree of progress as someone else. •/The United States has no choice but to keep step with potential enemies in terms of modern defense systems./